


Soar

by astraplain



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-19 22:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2405252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astraplain/pseuds/astraplain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A flea market vendor gives heartbroken Adam a gift. Written for tumblr's kadam au saturday theme: animal kadam</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soar

"Are you sure this wasn't just an excuse to go shopping?" Adam managed a laugh as Muriel claimed her purchase with an air of triumph before dragging him off again.

It was week three of “cheer Adam up because Kurt is engaged” and mountains of junk food and song-and-dance nights had given way to marathon flea market shopping. Adam had been passed among the Apples all morning in a not-so-secret effort to keep him from returning home to his cocoon of misery. He’d even been recruited to carry some of their new treasures, but he hadn't managed enough interest to search for a treasure of his own.

Nadia and Peter were lost to a stall displaying hand-dyed goods and Muriel was trying various combinations from a box of mismatched earrings. The others were all out of sight for the moment so Adam took the opportunity to slip away. He didn't go far, not wanting to worry his friends, but he needed a moment to himself. Normally he loved days like this, but he’d once promised to bring Kurt here and they’d never had the chance.

"You’re not to late."

It took Adam a moment to realize the vendor was talking to him.

"I’m sorry?"

"No yet, but you will be if don’t make an effort." The beautiful dark-eyed young man with the golden skin and jet black hair couldn't have been more than a few years older than Adam himself, but he had the air of someone older, or at least much wiser. He picked up a pair of enamel pins, black ovals with the profile of a bird in the center, one blue, the other yellow. He considered them a moment before handing them to Adam.

"Thank you, but I…"

"Humor me," the man urged, placing the pins in Adam’s hand. "The blue for yourself and the yellow for the one who is lost. Don’t pin them on anything until you are together. They must be put on at the same time and you both must sing."

"They’re very nice but—" Adam tried to set the pins down but the man caught his hand. Leaning in urgently he spoke in a low voice.

"The pins are a gift. Consider it a favor if you will. Go to him, put on the pins, and sing whatever you wish. If nothing happens come back and I will give you your choice of anything on my table for free." An elegant hand waved over the table and Adam suddenly noticed the apple pendant carved out of a ruby-colored stone.

"That," Adam pointed out the pendant, confident that it was too expensive an item for whatever game this man was playing.

"Done." The vendor reached under his stand for a small jewelry box and set the apple inside. Without being prompted, he wrote "Adam" on the outside of the box and set it aside. He held out a second box for the pins. "I’ll see you soon," he promised before excusing himself to wait on a new customer. Adam hesitated, wanting to ask how the man knew his name, but Muriel and Nadia arrived and dragged Adam away, the box with the bird pins clutched in his hand.

+++++

"I know you weren't expecting to see me." Adam stood awkwardly beside the sofa remembering how comfortable the loft had been just a few short weeks ago. At least he had remembered their schedules well enough to catch Kurt alone.

"Adam, I—" Kurt’s hands moved uselessly giving Adam an excellent view of the band on Kurt’s finger. This was an awful idea.

"Look, Kurt, I don’t want this to be difficult. It’s just…" Adam fumbled with the jewelry box. "I went to the flea market Saturday - the one I told you about. There was a vendor and, well, he gave me these pins. Spoke a lot of nonsense, but the pins are nice enough, and I know you like birds so." Adam handed Kurt the yellow pin and took the blue one for himself as suggested. "He said we have to sing while we put them on and we both have to wear them. It’s rubbish, but I thought… if you would be willing…."

"I never wanted to stop being your friend," Kurt said sadly. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"A song then," Adam said with false brightness. He knew Kurt didn't mean to hurt him, but that didn't change the fact that his heart was broken. Feeling more miserable by the moment, Adam closed his eyes and started to sing “Blackbird”.

For a full verse there was nothing, but then, with a voice cracking with emotion, Kurt joined in.

The world tilted.

Panicked, Adam opened his eyes. He flailed as the room tilted again and felt the air stir. He turned his head and caught sight of a… bluebird?

Adam cried out in panic but the result was a high trill. The bluebird answered back and Adam turned his head to look, catching a glimpse of his own reflection. He saw a goldfinch.

He stared at the image that surely couldn't be his until he realized what he was hearing. It was Kurt, or the bluebird that had been Kurt, beating his wings frantically and making high, panicked sounds. Adam was afraid that Kurt would injure himself so he did the only thing he could think of in his own confusion and wobbled-flew over to him and gave him a light peck on the tail feathers. Kurt let out a startled squawk and dropped onto the sofa.

Adam managed a slightly more graceful landing, settling in beside Kurt and making what he hoped were soothing trills. Kurt turned to look at him and his eyes were so very Kurt that Adam’s heart fluttered in his feathered chest.

They huddled together, communicating as well as they could in snippets of song and low-throated chirps. The window leading to the fire escape was open a few inches and the wind beckoned like a siren’s call.

Kurt was the first to test his wings, making a short, ungainly flight around the loft and perching on the back of the sofa. He chirped encouragement at Adam and after a few false starts they were both flying crazy patterns and chasing each other. They finally settled on the sofa, and this time it was Adam who trilled a question.

It was insanity or some crazy dream, but Adam wasn't going to question the gift they’d been given. Even if it was only for a little while, he was going to make the best of it. He’d wanted to show Kurt the city, to give him a dream come true, even if it would have been on a poor student’s budget. This wasn't quite what he’d imagined, but it would be the best he could manage.

"Come with me," he sang, rising aloft, and Kurt gave an elegant bob of the head before joining him.

They landed on a wire near one of Adam’s favorite street performers and sang along while she played her guitar. There were only a few coins in her open guitar case and no one was stopping to listen. Kurt swooped down and perched on the case’s lid, his song pairing with hers. Adam joined him, waiting a moment before Kurt nudged him to join in. The guitarist laughed and played them a challenging riff. They sang it back to her before offering a challenge of their own.

A dollar bill dropped into the case followed by another. Kurt sang a pretty thank you and the guitarist echoed it in words before launching into another song. By the end of that one, there was a small crowd and a tidy sum in the guitar case. Adam sang a farewell and rose, hovering for a moment while the guitarist thanked them before leading Kurt to the next destination.

Broadway was a must, so Adam headed in that direction, stopping occasionally to rest. He thanked his excellent sense of direction for actually getting them there, considering how different everything looked from this height. Kurt matched his pace for the most part with only a few distractions. Adam understood the temptation, but his determination to show Kurt the city helped to keep him focused.

Broadway was too noisy and crowded to land, but they perched on theaters where their favorite shows were playing and sang to each other, fluttering and hopping as if acting out scenes. They didn't have much of an audience, but they didn't care.

The next stop was Carnegie Hall, where Kurt, with Adam’s urging, sang full-throated and glorious until he was nearly hoarse.

They were tired and ready to be back to themselves but Adam knew there was one last stop to make before the day ended. The flea market seemed to be very far away, but they finally reached it just as the early-spring sky was turning orange.

"Welcome back," the beautiful young man greeted them as they landed near his table. Adam chirped a question and the man laughed. "I did leave out a few details, but would you have believed me?" He patted the arm of a cloth chair set off to the side. “Come closer. You’ll want the reverse and I don’t care to shout it for everyone to hear.”

Adam went willingly, but Kurt hesitated, suddenly shy. Adam turned to sing some encouragement and the man laughed with delight.

"Welcome lost one. Come join your… friend." Another moment of hesitation and Kurt finally joined them. "Are you ready to be human again?" The birds chirped at each other, a long exchange, before both turning to the man and nodding. “Easily done. Sing these words at the same time: A love. A nest. Somewhere safe for us to rest.”

The birds looked at each other, but neither one sang until the man assured them that the pins would work again. “There’s no limit on how many times you can change as long as you follow the rules and have the right companion.”

The change back to human was as swift and painless as the transformation into birds, and almost as disorienting. Adam collapsed into the chair and pulled Kurt onto his lap, holding on tight until they were both less wobbly. Even then Kurt seemed reluctant to let go.

"The transitions will be easier without the binding." The man tapped Kurt’s engagement ring. "Unless you are willing to have your wings clipped?"

Kurt recoiled from the suggestion, unable to do more than shake his head, no. Adam wrapped his arms around Kurt and held on while he calmed. The man stepped back and looked up at the sky, a soft breeze ruffling his dark hair.

"There’s a vendor just around the corner selling herbal tea," the man said, giving Adam a meaningful look. Adam reluctantly eased Kurt off his lap and stood, checking to be sure he still had his wallet. Thankfully it was still there.

"I could use something warm," Adam said, touching Kurt’s hand lightly before walking off. The vendor watched him go before turning to Kurt with a sudden air of urgency. He took a small jewelry box labeled "Adam" from under the table and opened it to reveal two apple pendants on matching gold chains, one ruby red and the other a golden topaz. "The only payment I will accept for the pins is this: when your heart is free, give him the red apple and let him give you the gold. When it is done, come here and sing me a song.”

Kurt tried to argue but Adam returned with tea and cookies and the vendor entertained them with stories of exotic travel and eccentric customers. The light wind was cool and soothing and soon Kurt was drowsy and content, tucked against Adam’s sturdy warmth. He barely remembered the cab ride home or Adam tucking him into bed, but when he woke in the morning, the bird pin was resting on his dresser along with a goldfinch feather.

Nine weeks later, the Apples surrounded their favorite vendor’s table and, with Adam and Kurt in the center wearing their apple pendants, they sang a truly epic Sondheim mash-up.

::end::


End file.
